Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes
Your extended monthly horoscope for October was published on Thursday, Oct. 1. We published your extended monthly horoscope for September on Wednesday, Sept. 2. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — You seem to be in a struggle for your independence. If so you might ask: from what, or from whom? These can be tricky situations, where present circumstances have an overlay with impressions, values, experiences, and expectations from the distant past. This is one of the greatest challenges that an evolving person faces: reckoning with the influences of history. These have social and biological roots, and effects in all directions. The way these challenges are usually confronted is typically to ignore them and to live with a festering crisis. In a way this feels “comfortable” because it’s familiar and does not require a confrontation. Yet the ultimate confrontation is with oneself, in the form of questions such as, “How long am I willing to live like this?” And, “What is the real cost of living like this?” And, “How do I really feel about this situation?” Notice the absence of the question, “Why?” That is an abstraction, rather than a factual assessment. There is no tangible answer to “Why?” “How long?” is subject to a review, to facts and to an opinion that counts.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You are being influenced by forces you cannot see. This is always true, though it’s especially true now, such that you may look for them, and get an understanding of what they are. In a word, the thing to look for and to notice is anger. This is the anger that you don’t want to admit, or that you might be inclined to deny or to explain away as something else. I would therefore challenge you: what are you raging over inside? What persistently and over time comes up again and again as an irritant, as something intolerable, as a source of pain and resentment? That is the thing to identify, and to get into a dialog with. If we use astrology for clues, we see this in the distant past (Mars retrograde in the 12th house), going back so far that it is likely to have ancestral roots. While some would say this scenario exists only in your psyche, I have seen credible evidence that ancestral reality is tangible, whether considered as karma or as genetics or some other factor. Yet like a dream, you must take ownership of the ideas before assigning them to others. So you will need to sort that out carefully. This starts with being honest about what you feel.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Monitor your health-related fears. This is a challenging time to do such a thing, with sickness and death being advertised wall to wall on every channel. Yet maybe it’s the best time to learn the skill of detachment from environmental psychic influences. What that means in reality is listening to your body, listening to your inner voice, and understanding your health history and that of your family. Many people already experience hypochondria: illness anxiety. It’s understandable enough, given the diversity of factors we experience every day, especially now, and the collective rising tide of health-related fear. Deep in the heart of this is the idea of death. With your ruling planet Mercury turning retrograde in Scorpio, your 6th house of health and wellness, you might give that idea a voice, if only momentary. We usually experience death in reverse: the latest supplement or treatment or exercise plan that will grant immortality. This is why anxiety can strike with such seeming vengeance. It is mostly the result of suppression and of denial. There is plenty you can do for yourself. Worry is only toxic.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You have little choice other than to make use of the friction you may be experiencing in your professional life. To the extent that you are in a leadership position, you will need to refine your approach to how you manage others. That includes doing what you can to minimize conflict without compromising your integrity or your goals. There may be times when you need to make explicit demands on others, which may not be your style. Do so in a calm and direct way. Make your expectations known, and get them into the form of a mutual agreement. To the extent you are subject to the authority of others, you will need to steer clear of controversy with them. Make sure you are authorized to take action if you do, without being pushy about it. Yet you may need to be persistent, and work the politics of the situation. The thing to remember is that you are not powerless, which is to say, you have lines of influence. This is particularly true if you take care of your home life and your emotional life. That may be challenging, and it will be worth rising to the occasion.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — It is not easy get along with one’s neighbors these days, though you do your best. Don’t be surprised if some conflict arises this week as Mercury turns retrograde and the Moon and Sun collide with many other planets. If there be conflict, don’t be the one to start it; conflict is easier to resolve and get out of if you’re the one who is aggressed. It’s also easier to avoid, because staying silent or moving out of the way is always an option, and it would be a worthwhile one to keep in mind this week through Friday’s New Moon and a little beyond. Yet it is up to you to move civil conversation along, where it matters. You can take the lead there, remembering that the thing you need the most is a sense of balance of all viewpoints. That does not mean they are all equal; some are ridiculous and some are insightful. Rather, balance is an organizing principle, a kind of map, to making sure that people feel heard and that progress is actually made. There is important work to do.
Tailored for Virgo Sun and rising, this new audio reading by Eric Francis introduces you to your astrology through the autumn of 2021. We will take maximum advantage of the power you are drawing from the Earth signs at the time of your solar return: Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, as well as Uranus in Taurus. This is a grand earth trine, and the thing to do is gather momentum in the direction you want to go, and then point yourself there. Eric describes the influence of Jupiter and Saturn ingressing Aquarius later this year. The reading looks closely at Chiron in Aries, accompanied by Mars retrograde in Aries — your most important relationship house. Now with full transcript. Order now for instant access. This reading is included with the Backstage Pass.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Venus in your sign represents your highest potential, though you will want to take careful steps toward getting there. This is because Venus is opposing Neptune, and that is like a big sign that says “slippery when wet.” So through this week, you will be best served by taking an idea or a theory, and testing it in a small way. Then, work with what you learned from the experiment: what succeeded and what seemed to go wrong. Yet this will take some time, as the opposition is exact on the 18th. This happens amidst much other astrology, including an impressive Mercury retrograde that begins today, Tuesday. The message of this retrograde is: rethinking. If you have not noticed, we live in the era of pick a viewpoint and camp out there eternally, regardless of what compelling evidence may present itself. Now you get an opportunity to do what many people feel is impossible: change your mind about something. This would involve admitting you were wrong, though for someone of your intelligence, that should exist on the level of sport. It’s fun being wrong, mostly for the awesome benefits.
Notes to Myself is Ready | Astrology Studio for Libra
Dear Friend and Reader:
Your reading is done, and in true Libra fashion, it is beautiful.
The reading all moves toward the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius, your 5th house of curiosity, art, pleasure and passion.
Before we get there, I review the Pluto in Capricorn era that began in 2008, and bring that up to the present. I look at the aftershocks of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction back in January, all of which is about your drive to be secure and stable in a rapidly changing world.
Aries, your 7th house of relationships, figures prominently, beginning with a discussion of Chiron in Aries and what that represents: healing in relationships, and also the presence of teachers and mentors.
And I look at Mars retrograde in Aries and describe how it is necessary to take an arm’s length approach to the affairs of others, even if it impacts you directly. You may listen to a sample of your reading here.
Exciting Extras Included — Including my Millennials Reading
Special features include a full transcript coming in about a week, articles related to the topics I discuss (such as the Aries written reading for INTELLIGENCE), and free access to the Understanding Millennials reading I did a few years back. This reading looks closely at the Capricorn events of the early 1990s.
Understanding Millennials is an exciting look at the astrology of its era, and also will help you understand either yourself or young people you may know.
All of this is yours for just $44. The reading will be available for instant access.
This reading is included with the Backstage Pass, without a personal reading, or with a 20-minute custom look at your chart.
Thank you for your business and for trusting me as your astrologer.
With love,
PS — You may subscribe to Core Community or Backstage Pass by phone, by calling (845) 481-5616.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — The New Moon in your birth sign Friday presents you with an option: take care of your own priorities, or get totally involved in everyone else’s. You may not be able to stay out of others’ situations entirely, though you can know where you stand with yourself. The problem is not so much about helping others, but rather being invested in situations where it is not possible to do so: situations that only burn your time and resources. Plenty of people spend their whole lives doing this, wondering where their time and energy went. For many reasons, this happens easily and it happens often, and extracting yourself can require the focus and persistence of any great life accomplishment. And it would count for that, if you did it. For you the current question is: does any personal goal motivate you enough to stand up for yourself? Do you feel that your own needs, desires or creative intentions are worth the effort? That is a significant question at this stage, and it’s likely to keep coming up, demanding an answer.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — If there is a “bone of contention” in a relationship, it may pertain to an unresolved issue that belongs to you alone, and therefore, not the relationship. It is a situation only you can resolve, perhaps with the help of someone more objective and skilled than a relationship partner. So, first, identify the persistent issue. What is it, and what is the prevailing theme? The theme is the thing to track: the prevailing message of the event. This is likely to involve gaining an understanding of expectations. Here is a question to try on: what is the purpose of an intimate relationship? Unpack that for a while. Then ask yourself where all those ideas came from. For example, a great many people still aspire to have the relationship that their grandparents had, while knowing little about it, or the circumstances that created it. Lots of ideas about relationships come from movies, which are all about image and little about understanding the human condition. Consider: what do you actually want, and what do you actually need? Write that down, and stare at it for a few weeks — making any necessary edits.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Keep your inner ear open to information about unresolved attachments in your life. This can range from anything to a babysitter you loved to your last three partners to your first love to unrequited love affairs to any missing friends. You will need to pay attention, though, as these observations can disappear faster than they showed up. Often they arrive with the wispy quality of a dream. There is something in this mix about needing to be the most important person in any given situation, which could be personal and intimate and which could relate to work. John Lennon once made a comment that I’ve taken to heart. He said that most of us want to be loved with the intensity with which we loved our parents. The thing is that no matter how much our parents may have loved us, for a long time they were our whole world, while we were only part of their world. So that degree of involvement is rarely returned, and leaves behind a power imbalance. Then, this shows up all kinds of odd ways, though mostly as expectations. If you have any of those, at least know what they are.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Set your own goals or others will set them for you. You have the ability to do this. The question is, do you have the maturity, and the faith in yourself? The forthcoming Mercury retrograde is cautioning you to be cautious about reading the tea-leaves of public opinion, especially about yourself. Anybody who speaks up about anything relevant is met with a barrage of verbal retort, repartee and trolling. That is not an accurate reflection of who you are. It’s barely an accurate representation of the world around you. And at the moment, the distortions are unusually bold. Yet there is likely to be someone who tips their hand and reveals something that you benefit from. So you will need to listen carefully, and read carefully, and not take anything personally. Ok, that’s nearly impossible, so you will need to maintain your sense of perspective. Your current astrology has you inclined to be a walking emotional trigger. Be aware of that, and keep your sense of humor handy at all times.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Time is going fast, the world is getting smaller, and every day the future seems to be diminishing in its value as a resource. Still, you must slow down, think bigger and make some investment in the future — all of this on a regular basis, even daily. There is much being said about “staying in the present.” That has value, and when it’s really happening, might feel like an LSD or Ayahuasca trip. The past and the future exist not just as concepts, but as ones that support the continuity of the mind. They will exist whether consciously or not; whether used productively or not; whether connected to anxiety or to wisdom. The most valuable concept of the future that you need involves a vision of what is possible, and for what you want. When you can see something in your mind’s eye, you are much more likely to create it. As for the past, it’s important to recognize that it happened, and that it had an effect on you. All that experience is worthless if it is not in service of wisdom, and wisdom applied to the present.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Sex and relationships are important to you, though they can be perilous. You have learned many times that your interactions with others cannot determine your values, which is one of the things that happen when intimacy and sex are involved. The message of the Libra New Moon is to know where you stand with yourself. Know your priorities. Retrograde Mars in Aries suggests strongly that this is a work in progress. So part of what your relationship experiences are here to provide for you is some contrast between you and the other. You do not need to buy in, sell out, sign for the loan or make a deal. The nature of your relationships is “I am me, and you are you.” This always was and always will be. Yet it can take some working out, and dedication, especially if you are a people-pleaser (most Pisces are). Your chart suggests you are strongly other-identified. That is probably true. So it will take some focus and reflection to keep your life centered around your own needs and priorities first, and those of others second.